Olympic Gymnast Gabby Douglas Goes For Gold

This article originally appeared in the June 2016 issue of SELF.

Flash back to the 2012 Olympics: Gabby Douglas sprints across the floor in a magenta leotard, leaping into the air and taking flight. Four stunning rotations later, she touches down, nails a leap, then sticks the landing. A huge smile flashes across her face. That smile—and the epic floor routine preceding it—instantly captured the hearts of Americans. It also captured Douglas a gold medal in both the individual all-around and team competitions—a history-making moment as the first American gymnast to do so.

Now, the 20-year-old is at it again, training hard to compete for that “best in the world” title this summer in Rio. And she’ll complete every routine with her famous smile—not because she’s a competitive gymnast and the judges are expecting it, but because gymnastics has always made her spirits skyrocket.

“My oldest sister taught me how to do a cartwheel when I was three,” says the Virginia Beach, Virginia, native, who loved them so much that she quickly upped the ante to one-handers (and then no-handers). “Learning new skills and tricks fuels my passion.” Even though Douglas has completed handsprings, swings on the bars and bouts at the beam literally thousands of times, she hasn’t lost her childhood joy for the sport.

And when you spend more than 30 hours in the gym each week, finding the fun becomes extra important. “Gabby gets it. She understands,” says her trainer, Christian Gallardo. “She gets in there, busts her butt and works out hard. But instead of saying ‘Ugh, that was so exhausting,’ she’ll say, ‘I’m so much better because of it.’ ” In the morning, Douglas does a mix of strength and conditioning exercises, then practices her floor routine, among others. She breaks to “chill out” with friends for lunch, then gets right back in the swing of things. By 2 PM, she’s tackling more events, like beam and bars.

Her champion’s mind-set—happy, strong—is attainable for everyday exercisers, too. The key is to experiment until you click with a sweat-ivity that just feels good. “In a way, exercise is an expression of your personality,” says Heather Milton, senior exercise physiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center’s Sports Performance Center. “Maybe marathon training isn’t your thing, but you love a group class. You’ll have more fun when you’re comfortable.”

So consider this a license to find the stuff that makes you smile—no slogging through a run when you really want to Spin your heart out or get drenched in a hot-yoga class.

For more, pick up the June issue of SELF on newsstands, subscribe, or download the digital edition.

Be sure to tune in: the Olympics begin August 5th on NBC. To learn more about all Olympic hopefuls, visit teamusa.org.

Sports bra, $23, shorts, $25, and shoes, $150; Nike.com.

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